balance
/ˈbæləns/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.76 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Mental equilibrium; mental health; calmness, a state of remaining clear-headed and unperturbed.
Uncountable
noun
The overall result of conflicting forces, opinions etc.; the influence which ultimately "weighs" more than others.
Uncountable
noun
A list accounting for the debits on one side, and for the credits on the other.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "But civilized man is quite a different animal, and when he wipes out an entire city or levels a forest, he is no longer working within the natural balance of things."
- "These weights are used as a balance for the overhanging verandah."
- "Blair thought he could provide a useful balance to Bush's policies."
- "The balance of power finally lay with the Royalist forces."
- "I think the balance of opinion is that we should get out while we're ahead."
- "The shift in the balance of power online has allowed anyone to publish to the world, from dispirited teenagers in south London to an anonymous cyber-dissident in a Middle East autocracy."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Italic *dwi- Latin bi- Latin lanx Latin bilanx Vulgar Latin *bilancia Old French balancebor. Middle English balaunce English balance From Middle English balaunce, from Old French balance, from Late Latin *bilancia, from (accusative form of) Latin bilanx (“two-scaled”), from bi- + lanx (“plate, scale”). Displaced the word — Old English wǣġ akin to Modern English: wey from Proto-West Germanic *wāgu (“scales; weight”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
Inflected Forms
balances (plural)
balaunce (alternative)
balances (present, singular)
balancing (participle, present)
balanced (participle, past)
balanced (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
balanced (first person, past)
balancest (archaic, present)
balanced (past, second person)
balancedst (archaic, past)
Derived Forms
Phrases
adjusted trial balance
analytical balance
balanced scorecard
balance of equities
balance of payments
balance of trade
t. b.
balance sheet
Synonyms
equilibrate
pair of scales
set of scales
scales
weighing machine
weighbridge
equilibrium
disinterest
even-handedness
fairness
impartiality
neutrality